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Tedious Maids
"Tedious Maids" is the 10th episode of Devious Butlers. Summary Justine now knows the truth about what Rena does to earn his overtime and she is taking it a lot better than expected... mainly because, with Liz's scheduled return home, she sees it as an opportunity to milk her employer for everything she's worth. Joe and Ben remain stumped at their discovery - or lack thereof - while Ali starts to panic, especially when the whole charade may have consequences for Jennifer. Joanna finds a kindred spirit when it comes to screwing the help, while the man she bailed out of prison gets a new job working for the Littles. But it seems they could be hiding just as much as everyone else on Fanon Drive. Plot 'Teaser' Focus on the face of Justine Dussault, as she sports her squinty-eyed smile, staring down at a nervous Rena. The camera pans around the back of her blonde head, as we're taken through time to years before. Justine, still with her squinty-eyed smile, stares down at a piece of paper, revealing that she has just been accepted into the French Culinary Academy of her dreams. Lowering the paper, she lets out a squeal as she begins violently twerking all throughout the room. Cut to Justine arriving at the alleged address of her culinary school; she is seen walking through a bad part of the town, and instead of sporting her squinty-eyed smile, she sports a squinty-eyed frown. She looks around, calling out to see if anyone is there, but she is taken by surprise as several police cars arrive, sirens blaring, and a man is dragged out of the building in handcuffs. Justine realizes that her acceptance was a fraud... and with all her money tied in with the tuition, she is now penniless. Still in the past, Justine is seen exiting a plane, arriving in the United States for the very first time. She lets out a deep breath as her squinty-eyed smile returns. She looks around the airport, admiring all of the American flags, "I <3 Jesus" signs and smells of deep-fried foods. A fresh start is what she needed, and from there Justine heads to start her new life. Return to the present day where Justine has spent a good amount of time living this new life she sought out, and it most definitely has been worth it, leading up to this moment. "Justine..." Rena exclaims, nervous about what she plans to make of this revelation, "you must understand that what Liz and I were doing was--" but the French maid raises her hand, having had enough. "I no care of what you and Mrs. Bitch did or not did do." She lets out a laugh, exclaiming that she should have known, with how the two of them have been growing a lot more closer since Eli left for Rome. "Please don't tell him," Rena begs, but Justine assures that she wouldn't dream of it. "But weren't you just gonna...?" Justine shakes her head, "Not with new infos I have learned. Now I that know of who Mrs. Liz has been adultering with and that it is just Pig, I can, how you say, mail the blacks you two." "You mean blackmail?" "That is of what I say." "No, you said mail the blacks, which makes no sense." "It same thing!" "No, it's really not.." "Quiet, Pig, what matters is you the bitch of me now!" Rena sighs, admitting that he'd rather Justine just go to Eli, as he just cannot be arsed with this right now. "I could do of that," Justine agrees, "but in case you no have the memory, Mr. Eli would, how you say, pound your face into the hard cement and rip every inch of your insides open. Also Mrs. Liz would suffer." Though annoyed, Rena does understand that Justine has a point; he probably should avoid Eli figuring out anything as best as he can. "Well what will make you shut up?" Rena wonders, and Justine smiles, squinting her eyes even more than before, exclaiming, "From day of this onward, you do all I give commands of you to do. When I ask you do thing I need doing, you do it and don't bitch any of it. Understand?" Rena raises an eyebrow, implying to the maid that she must be out of her mind. However, both of their phones start vibrating, as a group text comes through. "At the airport in Rome, coming home." It's from Liz, and Justine reads through it with a smirk on her face. "Ok ^^" she responds, then looking up at Rena, wanting to know if he accepts her terms. After a moment of hesitation, the butler finally gives in, making Justine ecstatic. "Great! You can start with waxing my bikini!" "Excuse me?!" Rena exclaims, disgusted, but Justine undoes her dress, revealing that she's wearing a hot pink bikini under her clothes. "I soak in wax and clean real nicely." As the maid leaves her dress on the floor, she starts going into Liz's bathroom where she turns on the tub. "I take hot bath now," she says, removing the rest of her bikini and climbing into the steaming hot water. The steam building up in the room prevents Rena from seeing any of the maid that Ben would not want him to, and as Justine gets settled, she turns to her new found slave. "Don't stand there just; get to work!" DEVIOUS BUTLERS 'Act I' "I don't understand," Joe states, staring at the empty room where all the Del Barrio prostitutes used to be, "what's supposed to be here?" "No, no, no…" Ali continues to utter, entering a state of near-catatonia. "Ali?" Ben questions, equally confused, "What exactly were we supposed to find in here?" "NO!" Ali screams in response, and then she runs away, back through the basement halls and up the stairs. Joe steps out of the room, closing the door, and looks to Ben. Ben shrugs, deciding that they should probably follow Ali and made sure she's okay, and Joe sighs as he comes to agree. The two of them calmly exit the halls, going past the wine cellar. The wine cellar with the closed door. On the other side, we see that the whores have all been relocated and locked inside, and Andrew Von Trump is standing amid them. Hearing footprints outside, Jennifer attempts to call out, "Goldil—" only to have her mouth covered by Andrew's strong hand. He smiles wickedly as the Scotswoman cries and shuts up. As he smiles, the camera shows us all the whores and we flash back to… Jorgio, after having just returned the girl he smothered, closing the door to the basement room and deciding not to use his wife's key to lock it. We then see him returning the key to her dressing table as she gets ready to be taken to the club, already suspicious of her newfound cockiness. "Jorgio, why don't you just shut the hell up?!" Ali exclaims at her husband, after which he makes a threat and storms off, slamming a door. We see that he headed to the surveillance room, and is watching as Ali cavorts with Ben to expose the room with the chained-up girls. Jorgio phones up Andrew and asks for his help on a very important matter, offering to give him half-off on the girl of his choosing if he does this. While Ali skulks around the house that night, waiting for bedtime so that she can sneak out while Jorgio is asleep, clutching her necklace, he and Andrew sneak off to the unlocked basement and begin removing the whores' chains from the wall, moving them one at a time to the wine cellar. "Goldilocks! Help!" Jennifer screams as she's moved into the wine cellar, but Andrew gives her a swift slap, assuring Jorgio that he'll keep a watch over them for the night. He seems disgustingly excited in the prospect; the girls are just disgusted. With the wine cellar locked up, Jorgio heads to bed and pretends to fall asleep. Ali soon determines that he is asleep, incorrectly, and sneaks out to go and meet Ben and Joe, unaware what will be waiting for her. In the present, Joe appears saddened that yet another aspect of his case has turned out to be a dud. After all, he can't prove that Jose found anything out if there's nothing there for him to have found in the first place. Focus on a yellow-painted house on the corner of Fanon Drive where a car pulls up into the driveway. "Here we are," Brad exclaims to Josh, who sits in the passenger's seat, having just been bailed out of prison, "your new... home?" Josh gets a look at the outside of the home which is, while big, a very hideous color. "Right..." he exclaims, getting out of the car and making his way to the trunk to remove his suitcases. As Brad hits a button, still in the car, opening up the trunk, Josh retrieves him belongings. He turns back to the lawyer, asking if he plans to join him, but Brad shakes his head. "Yeah, I'm not going back in there." Josh wonders why that is, to which Brad replies, "You'll see," before turning the car back on and driving away, leaving Josh alone. Josh is next seen sat in the family room of the mansion, being stared down by the three residents: Rochelle, Aliza, and Emmanuel Little. "So, Mrs. Little," Josh says to the family's matriarch, Rochelle, who is sat in a motorized wheelchair, "anything you need and I'll come running. It shouldn't be a problem." Rochelle's facial expression sports that of a cold glare, however, as she then turns to stare down her daughter, Aliza. "Soz about her," she says to Josh, smacking down on a piece of chewing gum, "Mama's not crazy about the whole idea of hiring a maid." "I prefer butler." "And I prefer you pipe down." "What my sister means to say," Manny, Rochelle's son, interrupts, "is that our mama is just going to have to adjust to you, that's all." Rochelle now turns to her son, telling him that she can speak for herself. "Well so far you's not been sayin' nuffin," Aliza points out. "Well maybe it's because I think this whole idea is a bunch of bull. I am your mother, you should want to take care of me! Hiring some white boy twink to do the job for you, the nerve!" "I gotta life to get back to!" Aliza argues, but Rochelle scoffs, "You're 29 years old with no husband; your life is over." "It's not my fault Antwon knocked up that hooka slut from Burbank!" Manny points out that she's not so innocent herself though, stating that she did pawn off her engagement ring. "I needed spendin' moneys!" "You needed weed money." The brother and sister continue to go back and forth a bit, the latter mocks her brother for being an unemployed deadbeat, whereas the former mocks his sister for being a promiscuous druggie. Josh sits in silence as he watches Aliza and Manny bicker, but Rochelle, who sits in the middle of the two, has clearly had enough. "Both of you, shut the hell up," she demands, smacking them both on their wrists. Feeling the need to speak up, Josh once again addresses his employer. "Mrs. Little," he says, "I'm just here to make you and your family's life easier. I understand you may not be entirely up for having me around, but I really, really need this job. Just tell me what to do and I will do it." Rochelle scans the butler from head to toe, and then looks up at her children, both of whom are ready to see what she has to say. "Yeah, fine, whatever," she says. "If I don't keep you then I'm sure my hateful children will find another way to show how ungrateful they are to me." With that, Rochelle presses a button on her wheelchair and wheels herself away. Josh is left in the room with just Aliza and Manny now, who turn to one another. "You're such a bitch," Manny says to his sister, who promptly smacks him across the face. Josh can tell it's going to be a long day. "Whores, I'm home," Liz calls, entering the Davis house, having returned from Rome. As she drops her purse down on the table in the foyer and takes off her sunglasses, she calls out for her servants to go fetch her bags from the limo, but there is no response. "Rena?" she calls, "Justine?" Mrs. Davis proceeds to look for either the French or the Portuguese, and soon enough she finds herself at the kitchen counter where she's met by the surprise of a note... and a whip. "I solve your secrets. -Justine, xoxo." Liz sighs, with her facial expression turning to that of frustration, and she storms out of the room. She's next seen entering into the BDSM closet where, sure enough, she finds Rena and Justine, the latter of which is sat down and having her toenails painted. "Hello, Mrs. Liz," Justine exclaims with her squinty-eyed smile, "I see word of my note got through you." "What the hell is going on?!" Liz demands to know, glaring at Rena who refuses to make eye contact with his furious employer. Justine's smile only widens though, as she explains how she suspected Liz was having an affair, and when deducing it was with Jorgio Del Barrio, Rena finally came clean. "Now I will be mailing the blacks of you." Liz turns to Rena, ever-so-mad; she looks as if she is about to lose it, but as she goes to act, Justine's phone vibrates. The French turns it on and sees that it's a text from Ben. "Oh, Pig," she says, "you are free leave for party of Benjamin for butler friend. The gay killer one. My Benjamin work hard making party so go and make good. And bring me back dog of bag before re'ing." Rena nods, and puts the nail polish down. Getting up, and still not making eye contact with Liz, he leaves. "Listen to me, you piece of snail," Liz says to the maid, now that they're alone, "if you think for a second that I will give in to extortion then you are--" but Justine cuts her employer off. "What you do, Mrs. Liz?" she wonders, "You do divorce of Mr. Eli? He will ruin you. He will takes the moneys, the house, and your career becomes wreckage." "Well I'm calling your bluff." "Okay," Justine says, taking her phone, ready to dial Eli. Mrs. Davis smacks the phone from her hand though. "Fine, maybe I'll just have to kill you," she says, rather seriously, but Justine still smiles. "You think I'm only one who know big secret? Please, I have, how you say, insurance placed. If I'm gone then you still are of exposure." Liz sighs, finally giving in and asking what it is that the maid wants. Justine smiles as she picks up the toenail polish Rena left behind and lifts her foot in the air. Groaning, Liz takes the polish and proceeds to paint her maid's toenails. After a tough first half-day with the Littles, Josh is excited as he approaches his regular café to meet with his close band of butler buddies; he hasn't been there since before he was arrested, and he appears a tad wary when he notices that the lights are all out inside, thinking that maybe it's closed for whatever reason. However, when he tries the door, it doesn't seem to be locked, and then suddenly his three best friends - well, two best friends because let's face it he's known Joe for like a month - jump up and shout, "Surprise!" There is a banner welcoming him home, accompanied by some balloons, and Josh appears touched by the effort. "Wow…" he utters, with Ben explaining that they talked to the owner and managed to get the place to themselves for the hour, and Josh expresses surprise that they got all of this together on such short notice, considering he only phoned Ben to tell him of his pending return the night prior. "Well he did kind of rush the banner," Rena says, looking up judgmentally, and Joe nudges him with his elbow, at which the Portuguese exclaims, "Welcome home!" Josh continues to smile, with Ben asking him what he'd like to do; the blond butler admits that, honestly, he's missed sitting around the table and just talking to them about what's going on in their lives over a nice cup of coffee. "Then that's what we'll do," Ben assures, inviting him over to the table. They're soon all seated with drinks, and it isn't long before Rena asks, "So, how was it in the joint?" Joe nudges him again, to which he says, "What? I wanna know," and Josh assures that it's fine. "It was pretty harrowing, I won't lie," he admits, "I mean, in the week I was there alone I got starved out by the Russian guy in the kitchen, tasered by a guard because I was chasing a chicken I thought I saw, and for some reason I got elected to represent the whites in some sort of prison council. Oh and then there was Rapey Randy trying to find me last night to throw me a 'going away' party." "Rapey Randy?" Joe questions, amused by the nickname, and Josh nods and says, "Yeah. Had to give head to him and his whole gang just to stay alive. Right in the yard." "The guards didn't prevent that?" Ben asks, disgusted, and Josh reveals, "They joined in. Turned into bukkake. I felt like a Japanese love pillow, or Henry Mills at the end of 3x01." "Whoa," Rena comments, and Ben adds sadly, "I'm sorry you had to go through that." "Meh, don't be," Josh shrugs, "that was the best part. Except when I worked my way around to one of the whites’ Latino allies. Reminded me of Juan." He sighs sadly. "Tasted like him too. Had the same yoghurt-like consistency." He proceeds to explain how Juan called and wrote him off as a murderer, then taking a look at the other butlers and wondering what's been going on in their lives. Joe and Ben have of course been investigating the latter's bosses' shadiness, and so they neglect to say anything, while Rena is in the middle of a French maid's blackmail scheme, meaning all three of them lower their heads and say, "Not much," in unison. Josh appears disappointed by the lack of gossip. Over at the Del Barrio household, Ali can be seen sitting on the couch in front of the TV. It isn't on or anything; she's just… sitting there, looking as though she doesn't quite know what to do herself. "Isn't this normally when you give those slags lunch?" Jorgio asks from the doorway, making his wife skittish, and she expresses confusion because, last she checked, there were no "slags" to speak of. "Right," Jorgio smiles, "you got my little surprise then." Ali stands up, demanding to know where they are, but Jorgio assures her that they're back where they belong - he even went as far as to swipe her necklace from her when she was sleeping and lock them in himself, before putting it back. "I was…" "Going to betray me?" Jorgio questions. "No," Ali tries, and her husband laughs. "You know what's funny?" he questions, and Ali shakes her head. "Of course you don't," he adds, "I probably violated all the humor out of you. But still. The funny thing is… I smothered that prostitute for nothing. Because that wasn't your little 'friend', was it?" Ali is simply still at this, not daring to breathe a word. "No," Jorgio nods, "thought not. Because, you see, there was this one tedious Scottish bitch who, as Andrew moved her, kept crying out for someone called 'Goldilocks'. I… assume that's you?" Tears well up in Ali's eyes, but still she maintains her blank expression. "You remember what happened the last time you made friends with you really shouldn't have?" Jorgio questions. More tears, and then we flash back… Ali talking to Jose after he starts working in the Del Barrio house. Ali and Jose bonding late at night, with him sharing a cup of tea with her to calm her nerves. Ali showing Jose her necklace, because she trusts him enough with her biggest secret. And, finally, Jose falling, blood-festered, into the pool (see"Pilot"). Ali is shaking in the present, and then she lets out a nod. "So we're clear then?" Jorgio asks, elaborating: "If you dare try and betray me again, your little friend gets ground up into a Haggis. Maybe I'll even make her husband cook it and feed it to you without you knowing. I haven't quite decided yet. The important thing is, she'll die, and you'll live, with me, forever. If you try anything. I will make sure of it." Ali is shaking even more, with further tears streaming down her face, and then Jorgio walks away feeling very victorious. 'Act II' Return to the Little house, at the start of a new day, where the family sits at the dining room table, awaiting their breakfast. With Rochelle sat at the head, and Aliza and Manny at her side, they sit in silence as Josh brings out the food; eggs, toast, bacon, etc. Aliza keeps busy with updating her Snapchat story, and Manny reads up on current events. "Another church was blown up," he announces, "This time the minister was black. Obvious targeting." Aliza rolls her eyes before snapping a picture of Manny, without him noticing, wearing the flower crown filter. "Emmanuel, what have I told you about reading the news," Rochelle exclaims, at which Manny argues he just wants to know what's going on in the world. "It doesn't concern you," she barks, "now quit it. Or are there going to be problems?" Not wanting to upset his mother any further, Manny closes the newspaper, as Josh awkwardly refills Rochelle's coffee cup. With all the food having been brought out, Aliza puts her phone away as she and her family go to eat. She looks up at Josh though, and a smirk comes across her face; she unwraps her napkin and drops it on the floor. "Josh, would you mind getting that?" she asks. Putting the coffee pot down, Josh nods and goes to pick up the fallen napkin, just next to Aliza's feet. This gives her the opportunity to slide her hand up his leg, and gently grab a hold of his bottom. The butler's eyes widen at this, as he jumps up, with the napkin; he hands it back to her. "Ms. Little," he exclaims, hoping that will be enough to make Aliza back off, but she chuckles. "Why don't you join us?" she suggests, pulling out the chair next to her, "Have a seat next to me." "I... would rather not," Josh admits, going to refill Manny's cup, who has raised it in the air. "Oh come on," Aliza pleads, "who could resist this?" she asks, unbuttoning her top to make her breasts more visible. Manny rolls his eyes, stating, quite bluntly, "Put those damn things away. Can't you tell he doesn't swing that way?!" Both Josh and Aliza are rather shocked; Aliza then turns to Josh, embarrassed, as she re-buttons her top. A silent Rochelle, meanwhile, bites into a piece of sausage, having been humored. Josh awkwardly leaves for the kitchen so that the Littles can continue their meal alone, but all of a sudden the lights burn out. "Son of a bitch," Aliza exclaims, as Josh begrudgingly heads back into the dining room, wondering what's going on. Manny states that a fuse must have burst, and so Josh offers to go up to the attic and check. "Yeah, do that," Aliza orders, not making eye contact, as she's still embarrassed. Josh nods, and leaves to do so, but once he's gone, Rochelle slams her first on the table. "Morons," she exclaims, and Aliza and Manny wonder what's wrong with her. "You've instructed he go upstairs. To the attic." It takes Aliza and Manny a moment to comprehend the problem of this, but finally their eyes widen, realizing what this means. Rochelle ushers them to go stop Josh, and so the two quickly jump up and rush to catch up with the butler. As Josh has gone upstairs and is ready to open up the door leading to the attic, Aliza and Manny come running. "No, no, no, no, no," they both exclaim, in unison. "Turns out you're needed downstairs," Aliza exclaims, "my brother will handle this," she says, turning to Manny. Despite not really knowing how he'll handle the burst fuse, Manny nods, agreeing with Aliza. "Yeah, I mean, if that's what you want..." Josh says, as Aliza starts to usher the butler back downstairs. "Yes, sorry for the inconvenience," she says, turning back and glaring at Manny, who lets out a sigh. He then proceeds into the attic. Ali is sitting back in front of the TV, which is now purveying an episode of The Passions of Falta. It appears that Perilla is causing trouble for Rose, not that Mrs. Del Barrio is really paying any attention because she's still reeling from that conversation with Jorgio she had earlier. When she hears someone at the doorway, she grows startled once more as she thinks it's him, but she's relieved to discover that it's merely Ben having returned home from his lunch break. "Hey there," he utters awkwardly, dusting the walls so as to appear casual, and Ali keeps her eyes fixed on the TV and she replies, "Hey," rather blankly. "So, um, about the other night," the butler tries, only for Ali to turn her head to him and say, "I'd rather not talk about it, to be honest." "Come on," Ben ushers, dropping the pretence of dusting, "we can't just leave it at that." "I'm sorry, Ben," Ali says, standing up, "but I'm afraid I can't help you any further." "Ali…" "Leave." "Excuse me?" "The room," Ali makes clear, "Please leave; you're disturbing me." "But—" "Leave," Ali presses, and Ben looks rather saddened as he begins backing up out of the room. Ali sighs, also saddened, as she watches him go, before returning to the couch and pretending to care when Spencito regains his memories. From the surveillance room at the top of the house, Jorgio has witnessed this entire interaction, and his feeling of victory is maintained. Focus on a set of lips, with a straw sticking out. A loud slurping sound can be heard as Justine sucks up what remains in a to-go cup from whatever local fast food restaurant she had for lunch. The camera zooms out to reveal she is sat in a comfy chair in the Davis house living room, with Liz, in fact, holding the cup so that the maid can drink. Rena, meanwhile, is on his hands and knees, with his back serving as a foot rest. "Ah, good, good very," Justine exclaims, satisfied with these new arrangements. Liz has to fight back saying anything to the maid, who is currently spending her time watching the first episode of Jane the Virgin on Netflix; she's not impressed. "Plotline is so silly," she exclaims, "Virgin girl getting sperm'd by lesbian doctor and then pregnancy comes. Too silly. So unrealistic. Why people watch this?" Rena now has to fight the urge to say anything, taking offense to the maid's remarks. Liz rolls her eyes, growing ever-so-fed-up. She finally exclaims, "Justine, how long is this supposed to go on? I have things to do." Justine shrugs her shoulders, stating that she doesn't know. She then burps. "Well I'm supposed to meet with my friend Joanna, so if you think I'm just gonna hang around all day then you are mistaken." Justine sighs, ushering her employer to leave. "Take break, fine, fine," she says. Liz thanks the maid, leaving to grab her purse, but she's then told to stop. "One thing last though," Justine says, "I need of you $50,000 in unmarked bills at your earliest convenience." Liz drops her purse, in shock; she asks the maid to repeat herself, which she does. "Excuse me?!" Liz exclaims, outraged, only for Justine to then point out that it's either that or Eli learns of her and Rena's affair. Hearing the name of the butler reminds Liz that he's stuck being blackmailed too, and so she turns to Rena, who is still being used as a foot rest; she points her finger at him and finally forces eye contact. "You, come with me. NOW!" Seeing Liz is upset, Rena looks up at Justine, who rolls her eyes and moves her feet so that the butler can get up. Rena follows Liz into another room, far enough away so that Justine can no longer hear them. She promptly smacks the butler across the face. Repeatedly. "What do you have to say for yourself?!" she demands of the butler, at which he apologizes, profusely, for what he has gotten the two of them into. "No, just shut up. Turns out I don't care," Liz says to him. "What I do care about is you doing something about this." "What am I supposed to do though?" Rena wonders, at which point Liz admits she doesn't know. "And again, I don't care. Just fix it or you're fired." With that, Liz storms off. "Joe… maybe you should stop," Brad suggests as Joe and Meghan are seated in his law office, there to discover what Joe has learnt so far. "Excuse you?" Meghan questions, and Brad sighs, saying, "It all seems a little… fruitless." "But I am so close to finding out who killed Jose!" Joe exclaims, to which Brad questions, "Are you? 'Cause it seems to me that you've grown distracted by some weirdo couple's basement of horrors, and I don't exactly see how that relates." "He was clearly blackmailing them with whatever he found down there," says Joe, "I just need to prove it. That's why he was killed." "And that's speculative," Brad points out, "Very much so, too." "So you wanna give up?!" Meghan exclaims, "What the hell do they teach you at," she scans the wall for a diploma, "Yale law?!" Then realizing he attended an ivy, she utters, "Oh dang," while Brad returns his attention to Joe. "You've been undercover for a while now," he states, "and have yet to provide me with any real evidence that Tyson didn't do it." "Except that he's left-handed!" Meghan exclaims, "Tell 'im, Joseph." Brad raises an eyebrow, and Joe explains that the killer used his right hand to slash Jose's throat while Tyson's dominant is his left. "Right," Brad nods, "or rather, left, but still… I don't know. We need a real solid lead if we're gonna get this kid out of jail." "I've already got one," Joe remains firm, "I just have to get Mrs. Del Barrio to open up a little, that's all." "Do you think she did it?" Brad wonders, but Joe says that he doesn't know. "Exactly, you don't know," Brad states. "Her husband is a shady dude," Meghan recalls, but Brad recalls in turn that he's also one of the only people on that street with a solid alibi, for several witnesses saw him standing by as Jose fell into the pool. "If Jose was blackmailing him," Joe states. "If…" Brad utters, but Joe ignores him, continuing with, "Then he probably wouldn't wanna get his hands dirty himself. He more likely would've paid someone to do it. Or… something." "But who?" Brad wonders, and Joe states that it's his job to figure that out. "You can do it," Meghan assures, "and you," she turns to Brad, "you will get my baby out of jail if it is the last thing you do!" "Of course I will," Brad nods, giving up, then closing the files on his desk which are all regarding Josh's case - it seems he's eager to ditch a client if it means more time he's able to spend working on this. "Oh how I hate life right now," Liz says, drinking from a glass of wine. "Oh how I love life right now," Joanna says, drinking from a bottle of wine. Out by the pool of the Winters' mansion, Jo and Liz lounge about, catching up. "Wasn't your husband just brutally murdered?" Liz questions, "Or was that Ali's?" Jo confirms that it was hers. "My condolences then?" Liz says, but Jo brushes this off, stating that's old news. "I've taken on this new butler and you wouldn't believe the difference it's made." Liz gasps at this news, exclaiming, "You're screwing the help?!" "Yes! And it's so much more convenient too, yunno? I don't even have to leave my own home." Liz congratulates her friend on this newfound happiness of hers, stating that she wishes the same for herself. Jo wonders what's wrong with her, and so Liz begins to explain her situation with Justine. "That two-cent whore of a French maid I have, that Eli still refuses to let me fire, has begun blackmailing me and Rena. Bitch caught on to some stuff and now she's threatening my marriage and state of wealth over it." "So you were screwing the help too?" Joanna questions, to which Liz replies, "In a manner of speaking." Jo comments that it does look bad that she still has Justine around, going on to say, "I've had my fair share of problems with her. There's a reason maids are no longer relevant, yunno." Liz nods, stating that she's begged and begged Eli to fire her, but it's been of no use, and now she's going to drain her of everything she has. "Which is part of the reason why I'm here, not gonna lie. I don't wanna waste my OWN booze." Joanna understands this as she grabs another bottle out from underneath the chair. "Help yourself," she says, "I have like ten... thousand more back in the house." "Aw, you're such a good friend," Liz says as she opens up the bottle. She, like Joanna, doesn't even bother filling her glass this time, and the two ladies cheer with the two bottles, proceeding to guzzle them down. 'Act III' Rena marches through the halls of the Davis house, dead-set on confronting Justine and putting a stop to her blackmail scheme. However, it's only when he arrives at her bedroom door when he starts to hear a sound coming from the inside: crying. "Justine...?" he calls out, only for her to bark at him to go away. Of course, Rena doesn't listen, and he slowly enters into the room to see what's going on. It appears Justine is crying over a piece of paper she's holding; Rena asks what it is. "Another bill," she admits, "More and more and more come that no idea I have to do about it." "What do you mean?" Rena asks, rather confused, and so Justine explains. "During my days of France, I had big dream of being famous chef. I got on the interweb and looked up big school to accept me, and when it accepted me I made money errors. Some fraud happened and now I'm in big debt to school. That is why I came here, to America. I needed fresh start, but how I supposed to know debt follow me? I work job as maid to pay back debt but it just keeps building and building and building and building." "And that's why you wanted Liz to give you $50,000..." Rena realizes, and the maid nods. She states that that's why she always steals from Liz and was blackmailing her over the affair: it was all in order to get the money she needed so she could finally move on with her life. Seeing that Justine is about to burst into even more tears, Rena rushes over to hug her, only to be pushed away. "No! Pig don't touch me not even when on vulnerable times!" Rena quickly backs away, but still sits down next to Justine to at least show that he's there for her. "Well I know what it's liked to be scammed," Rena relates, "Yas was going to bleed me dry." "But you stop con bitch in time!" The butler admits that this is true, but assures Justine he still does feel a special pity to those in her situation. "And I can even help you out," he says. Justine is confused though, wondering why he would want to help her after everything she's done to him. "You may have... a lot of flaws, but I still care about you," he says, taking the paper from her, reading what monthly debt she owes. Rena brushes this off, stating that it shouldn't be too hard to scrape together the money; he can even help her find someone to buy her VCR. "I... know not what to say," Justine admits, surprised by the butler's attitude, "Maybe I no have to mail the blacks of you and Mrs. Liz's dirty BSMD." Rena is grateful for Justine's change of heart, and he even invites her to join him and his friends for drinks later. "I'm sure they'd... grow to love you," he says, "and Ben will be there too." Justine nods, accepting Rena's offer, and finally she opens up her arms, allowing Rena to embrace her in a hug. The hatchet has been buried. It's happy hour, in more ways than one, and Joanna is busy riding her butler as per usual, screaming at the point of climax as he moans just the same, enhancing the sensation for both of them. However, while she rolls off and collapses onto her side of the bed, breathing heavily in satisfaction, she looks over to him and senses an emotion aside from utter bliss, and she finds this more than a little disconcerting. "What's wrong?" she wonders, but Joe tells her it's nothing. "Come on," she presses, "don't think I couldn't tell your heart wasn't quite in it. Something's distracting you. What is it?" "It doesn't matter," Joe assures. "Oh I see," Joanna snaps, "so it's okay for you to play detective and pry into my emotions but when I try to do it to you it's, what, forbidden?" "No, I didn't mean—" "Now," she continues in spite of him, "you gave me some pretty guilt-relieving advice the other day, and now is my opportunity to return the favor. So, tell me, what the hell's wrong?" "Your bedside manner is something to be desired," Joe quips, only for her to point out that the orgasm he just squirted up into her tells her something different. "And don't pretend you've been faking it; I've been scared to wear a skirt these past few days in case delayed seepage catches me by surprise, and I love skirts. You see the sacrifices I make for you?" "You're on the pill, right?" he clarifies. "Sure," she replies, and then, "Fine, you wanna know what's wrong?" Joe questions, and Joanna nods; he turns to her, leaning his head on his hand and his elbow on his pillow, and she is in the same position, opposite him, as she prepares to listen. "I was faced with a pretty big disappointment recently, and then someone I know gave me a reality check, and now I'm failing to see how I'm gonna pull myself together and… do what I gotta do." "Gee," Joanna replies, "could ya' be any vaguer?" "What can I say? I got my secrets," Joe tells her, and Joanna nods, saying it's pretty obvious when he sneaks out all hours of the day without much notice. "Right," Joe says, and Joanna smiles, telling him that it's okay, for harboring secrets is one of the few things she can truly relate to. "Oh?" Joe asks, interested, "What kind of secrets?" "Ah-ah," Joanna stops him, "you've already done me. Literally. We're focusing on you right now. Of course there isn't much to focus on considering the information you gave me was about as useful as an HBO press release, but let's see. Advice. Hmm… Go… be… better?" Joe looks confused at this, at which Joanna admits, "Fine, you got me, I suck at advice. What do you want, a cookie for helping me? 'Nother orgasm? I'll do pretty much anything except for butt stuff. Well, my butt." "Thank you for taking an interest," Joe tells her, amused, "but I think I'm good." "And you'll be less depressive in the sack?" Joanna questions, to which her butler says that he'll certainly try. "You ready to go again?" she then wonders, but Joe says that he needs another minute; "You're pretty insatiable." "Yeah," Joanna smiles, "I guess that's what happens when you spend years married to a repressed religious guy. You get all pent-up. He treated sex like God forbade it. As though He wasn't the one that gave us these fabulously interlocking parts. I mean, you gotta use 'em, right? One night he even came home late and I was waiting for him in lingerie, rearing to go. At like 2 in the morning. Most guys would jump at the chance, but he was all 'waaa, I'm too tired'. Like bitch that's supposed to be my line." Joe chuckles; "When was this?" he asks. "Oh, after some party we went to," Joanna recalls, "the one where that butler died. He stayed late cos he had business with Jorgio that night." Joe's eyes widen at this. "Business?" he questions. "Yeah," Joanna replies, then getting lost in her own train of thought: "You know, I think I will wear a skirt tomorrow. Seepage be damned. It's your job to mop up anything that comes dribbling out of me anyway, so…" Joe, however, can't seem to be able to pay attention, too busy formulating and getting himself excited by a possible new lead. A safety mask is seen being drawn over Manny's dark face as he switches on a blowtorch in the attic and begins getting to work on something. Josh is downstairs, perturbed by the noise, and decides to go up the rickety wooden staircase in order to knock on the attic door. "Mr. Little?" he questions, and we hear Manny sigh as he removes his mask and switches off his blowtorch, abandoning whatever activity he's up to but maintaining the leather apron he's wearing. "Yes?" he questions, opening the attic door a crack, and Josh says, "Oh… I was just wondering what you were doing. There was a lot of noise, is all." "And that's hardly any of your concern, is it?" Manny questions. "I thought maybe you were still tampering with the electrics," Josh confesses, "but the lights are on now." "Yes, I can see that," Manny states coldly, "or did you think all black people just see dark all the time?" Josh doesn't know how to respond to this, and Manny brushes him off, saying, "Don't come in here again until I say so. I'm working on something important." And then Manny goes to slam the door, at which point something falls from his leather apron. Josh looks confused as Manny disappears back into the attic, and goes to head back down the rickety stairs when he turns around due to the sound of the blowtorch. It's then that he notices the thing that fell from Manny's apron - a strip of white cloth, splattered in a dried substance. Intrigued, Josh picks it up, quietly asking himself, "Is that… blood?" "Joshua!" Aliza exclaims, at the bottom of the attic stairs, "What are you doin' up there?" "Nothing," Josh assures, hurrying down the steps. "And woz dat?" she asks in reference to what's in his hand, but Josh assures her that that too is nothing. "Bitch is that the only word you know? Hand it the damn hell over 'fore I melt cheese all over yo' cracka ass." She holds out her hand, ready to receive it, and Josh drops the scrap of fabric into it. "I found this," he admits, shaking a little, and Aliza requests that he stop acting so damn nervous. "I ain't tryna jump yo bones anymore, ya' big 'mo." "Right," Josh utters, "so I should just get back to work then." "Unless the Holy Spirit moves you into wantin' to munch carpet, yeah," she snaps, still clutching the cloth, and Josh makes his way through the house, cleaning other areas. Once he's gone, Aliza stares down at the cloth in worry, then hurrying down the stairs and meeting her mama Rochelle in the lounge area. "Mama," she announces, dropping the bloody scrap of white cloth onto the old woman's unmoving lap, "we got a problem." Rochelle looks down at the cloth and asks, "Is that from…?" "I think so," Aliza nods. "Well what the hell is it doing down here, you dumb floozie?!" the old woman barks, and which Aliza states that Josh discovered it when snooping around the attic. "Oh hell no," Rochelle barks, flicking a switch on her wheelchair and rolling on over to the nearby fireplace. She throws the scrap of cloth onto the fire, allowing it to burn, before turning to her daughter and saying, "I told your dumb asses it was a bad idea to hire a butler, and y'all didn't listen to me. When will you kids learn the simple damn truth? Mama. Knows. Best." Aliza looks ashamed in herself, while the shot moves over to the now disintegrated evidence of whatever's going on up in that attic. While Joe, Ben and Josh are later unwinding at the bar after a day's work, Rena can be seen entering the establishment and approaching his buddies. They wonder what's been keeping him, to which he reveals, "I hope you don't mind, but I brought someone along." And, with that, Justine steps into view, saying, "Bonjour," to the other butlers, and Ben seems very happy to see her. They all greet the maid, with Ben standing up to give her a kiss, and then she sits at the end of the booth while Rena takes his seat. "What are you doing here?" Ben wonders. "You do not want me?" Justine questions, but Ben assures, "No! I just wasn't expecting you is all." "Well," Justine states, "I thought I would come unwind with friends. After all, I work all day, and now I have pooped." "You mean you are pooped?" Joe questions, to which Justine shrugs. "Friends?" is what Josh decides to question, referring to the relationship of she and Rena; "You mean you two aren't at each others' throats anymore?" "We have, how you say, buried hatchet. But not in each other skulls." She purveys her squinted smile, and the others laugh obligatorily. "Well Justine," Josh states, "we're happy to have you here." "Yeah," Joe agrees, "after all, you're one of us." Ben shoots a brief look at Joe, finding irony in this statement since he himself is not "one of them", but then he returns his attention to his girlfriend, who smiles again while saying, "Yes, I am one of you, but with rata." Rena turns his head at this, pointing out that that wasn't a French word, but rather… "I know," Justine nods, "I decide… maybe it not such a Pig language after all, and maybe you are not so much Pig as you are…" "A friend?" Rena questions. "I was going to speak 'co-worker', but okay, 'friend' works. Unlike you." Rena goes quiet, and yet another squinty-eyed smile takes place. "Just 'cause we is friends, does not mean end to our banter, no?" Rena purveys a squinty-eyed smile of his own and, as the night goes on, the four butlers and the one maid who seems to be settling further into their group close the place down, laughing and drinking and enjoying each others' company. A hand reaches out to the Del Barrio doorbell, and Jorgio answers his own door to Andrew. "No butler to greet me?" Andrew jokes, and Jorgio smiles, saying that he distracted him along with Ali; "Should keep them out of our hair. Now, has the transaction been made? Paper trail destroyed?" "All taken care of," Andrew smiles, "now let's get to nabbing." Jorgio smiles, allowing Andrew into his house. "Hey, Ali," Ben says out in the large backyard, having returned from the bar, where his female employer is slowly drinking a glass of water by the pool. "Not thirsty?" he questions, noticing the fullness of the glass, and Ali reveals that it's vodka. "After that day at Joanna's (see "Rinse Upon a Time") I've enjoyed the occasional drink. I just didn't know how strong it was, that's all." "Right," Ben says, sitting down beside her, "Jorgio told me to come clean the pool, so…" He stares at Ali, noticing something. "Hey," he asks, "where's your necklace?" Jorgio uses Ali's key to open up the basement door. "You know which one you want?" he asks Andrew, who replies, "Boy do I." He then walks into the room full of whores, and Jennifer appears nervous as the low-key lighting from outside dully shines on her malnourished face. "Ben…" Ali utters. "I know," Ben says, "you can't talk to me about that kind of thing anymore, but I hope that doesn't mean you're done helping me in other areas. 'Cause… I thought we were friends." Ali takes a deep breath, and assures him that they are, and Ben questions if they're the kind of friends that share details about their lives. "Sure," she decides, sipping her vodka, "what's troublin' ya', buddy?" "This one," Andrew smiles, and Jorgio commends him on a "perfect choice". "No…" Jennifer utters as Jorgio kneels down and begins unchaining her, "no, please!" Andrew laughs, liking the resistance and relishing in her highly feisty spirit, getting turned on as she flails her arms to the best of her ability and kicks out her legs. "Jennifer," Ben replies, and Ali's eyes widen. "What about her?" Ali asks, and Ben reveals that he finds it strange that, with her being such a huge stalker, she never tried contacting him after returning to Scotland. As such, he tried calling her mother in Edinburgh, but her mother hasn't heard from her in weeks. "Is that so?" Ali questions. "You bastard!" Jennifer screams, now free, and she manages to scratch Andrew on the arm. At this, he giggles and slaps her into submission, with Jorgio steadying her by grabbing both her arms with either hand. Andrew then drapes a sack, which he brought himself, over the Scotswoman's head. "I mean, I know she was a huge bitch," Ben acknowledges, "but I'd hate to think of something bad happening to her. Well, something too bad. Something tragic, let's say. I…" "I'm sure she's fine," Ali lies, reaching out her hand and placing it on Ben's, "nothing to worry about." "Yeah," Ben nods, "you're probably right." Ali takes a large gulp of the vodka after this, which Ben wards against. Jennifer is dragged out of the Del Barrio house, with Andrew and Jorgio keeping her amicably escorted. They make sure nobody is wandering Fanon Drive as they place her into the trunk of Andrew's Bentley, thereby giving her a taste of her own medicine. "You're gonna pay for this, laddy!" she screams from under her sack, only for Andrew to lean down and whisper, "And you're gonna love it in my bed, 'lassy'." Jorgio laughs at this, while Andrew closes the trunk. He then gets into the driver's seat, having forgone a chauffeur, and he drives away. Unanswered Questions *''Who murdered Jose Sanchez?'' *Why was Jorgio threatening Jose, and vice versa? *Why was Joe abandoned as a baby? *Who did Justine's heart belong to and how did he betray her? *What exactly did Matthew learn about Joanna ("Emilie") that Jose wanted to use as blackmail? *What did Joanna mean when she said that Jose had been "taken care of"? *What was the conversation Liz heard on the night of the murder about? Who was speaking? *What happened to the women in the basement? *'Who did Justine inform of her blackmail scheme as insurance?' *'What problems did Joanna have with Justine in the past?' *'What business did Matthew have with Jorgio on the night Jose died?' *'What didn't the Littles want Josh to find out, relating to the blood-spattered white cloth?' Category:Season 1 Episodes